It's not big news based on what he's done the last two hiring cycles, but ESPN's Adam Schefter recently re-affirmed how selective Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will be when it comes to taking a head coaching job. If he takes a head coaching job.
"Ben Johnson’s gonna be very, very selective about the place that he chooses to go, if he decides even to leave Detroit. He’s gonna be very careful," Schefter said.
"He will be (sought after).", Schefter added. "But just because, let's just say, there's eight openings this year, and let's just say, eight teams have him in their wish list, doesn't mean he's going to be interviewing with eight teams. I think if Ben Johnson is interviewing with anybody, this year, he's interviewing with the intention that he's going to take that job."
Again, Schefter didn't break any news there. Every team that has an opening will want to interview Johnson, but he's not likely to accept every request.
AFC team predicted to poach a front office exec from Lions to bolster chance of hiring Ben Johnson
The idea of a team poaching a new general manager from the Lions' front office, and that hire helping them hire Johnson as their next head coach, isn't completely out of left field.
NFL analyst Chad Forbes has offered a prediction for that to happen.
Lions assistant general manager Ray Agnew is going to be a general manager some day, and the Lions also have former Chiefs and Browns general manager John Dorsey in place as a senior personnel executive. But Forbes has the Jaguars poaching chief operating officer Mike Disner to replace Trent Baalke as their general manager, and pairing him with Johnson.
Disner is a very experienced NFL executive across several different roles with three teams (Lions, Cardinals, Patriots) and the league management council. The Carolina Panthers wanted Disner for their general manager post after last season, but he eventually withdrew his name from the search.
The Jaguars have a lot of work to do to get good again. But they are not the "total dumpster fire" some people think they are. If they can get some credible people in key spots, things could turn around quickly. That process may start with getting a new general manager from the Lions' front office, then paying Johnson whatever he wants to come be their next head coach.
